Black★Rock Shooter

[terabient]

I watched the BRS anime yesterday. I'd only planned on seeing the first two episodes, but I ended up marathoning all eight episodes because CLIFFHANGERS EVERY TIME. Also the animation was pretty excellent and the story was alright. Non-spoilery thoughts regarding the show:

★ The first four episodes were really strong. I especially liked that the show didn't explain in dialog how the two worlds related to each other, since the structure made it pretty obvious. The second half felt like a big departure from the first--the shift in focus from Mato and Yumi to other character relationships seemed a little odd, and sort of diminished the strength and importance of Mato and Yumi's conflict. Also, I felt like the plot got a bit muddled during the later episodes--the ending was solid, but I think the sheer amount of new developments in episodes 5-7 made things complicated in an unnecessary way.

★ KAGARI IS PRETTY AWFUL, HUH. That said, I kind of enjoyed her horrific selfishness? The whole macaroon and doll scene with Mato and Yumi was just, omg. It was really over the top, but emotionally resonant; even if the actions are exaggerated the scene itself was something most people could see happening to themselves, in a way. (Maybe not having to eat ugly macaroons, but being friendly to someone who clearly despises you and has no problems letting you know that fact.) In the later episodes, I enjoyed the honesty and simplicity of her emotions, and that even though she was improving she was still inherently self-centered.

★ The action scenes are amazing. I wouldn't have thought a muted color palette with splashes of glowy neon colors could be so haunting or evocative, but it is. The design does contrasts well--the small slender characters wielding gigantic, absurd weaponry, the harsh landscape and the sprinkling of frivolity in the character designs like lace and free-flowing, perfect hair...it's one of the few shows that I can think of that fuses a bunch of disparate, but popular design elements successfully.

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I ended up signing up for fandom_stocking. Here's my stocking, if anyone is interested in stuffing it, and if you have a stocking up let me know so I can try to make something for you~ I can't promise anything, though, because I have been utterly incapable of finishing anything fandom related this year. x_x

Also, I was thinking of going through all the posts and compiling a list of people who are interested in ani-manga and video game fandoms, since they tend to be tinier and easier to overlook when browsing through posts. Would anyone be interested in something like that? (I will probably make one regardless, for personal use, but if others would find it useful then I'll make it public. ^^ )

Comments

[masu_trout]

Oh, hey, you watched it! \o/ and your thoughts are very much in tune with my thoughts, haha. I loved the design of the Other World, and the fight scenes were over-the-top in a really enjoyable way (even if it was hard to watch BRS get beaten to a pulp so many times and just keep getting up).

KAGARI WAS AMAZING. I was so glad she started to change because holy crap you cannot live like that, but at the same time I was a little bummed to lose the doll-weilding, macaroon-eating creepy child from the first three episodes. Also, Chariot has wheel-feet! How can you not think that's cool, I ask you.

And while I thought the overall plot was interesting, I totally agree that it seemed rather rushed. IMO a twelve-epsiode season would have been a better fit.

A fandomstocking compliation like that would be really great, and if you do do it I'd love to see it! If I can help ut with it in any way, please tell me. :)

[terabient]

I think what I liked about the fight scenes the most was how they followed through the standard over-the-top anime action. Like, there's one part when BRS is just staring down Chariot, and it's obvious that she's going to do the last-second ninja dodge, and she does--but Chariot whips out wheel spikes and plows BRS into the wall. On their own, those beats aren't new, but the way they're pieced together is surprising.

Yeah, losing Kagari's finely honed manipulative behavior so quickly was a little disappointing, but I like that her self-centered nature continued to be a problem until the very end of the series. Even when she's getting better, she's only concerned with her own happiness--I feel like the moment when she inadvertently breaks Yomi's heart would have played out the same way even if Kagari remembered how much Yomi had done for her earlier.

It makes her simple "Huh, I really DO love Yomi!" statement at the end more powerful--it's a really basic insight, but she absolutely did not have it before that moment! She sounds as surprised as anyone, heh.

i have a lot of Kagari feelings, apparently /o\

[masu_trout]

I highly approve of Kagari feelings!

And yeah, I agree- I think the anime does a very good job of showing that Mato/BRS really is running on nothing but overwhelming power of will. Like, willpower is a central theme in a lot of anime and manga, but I think it's especially powerful in this one because they don't shy away from showing just how ridiculously outmatched she is. When BRS goes up against a wheel-spiked tank or thousands of skull soldiers, it does shy away from showing just how much she's getting killed in the fight, and that makes the fact that she keeps going so much more there. (And I loved that scene, even if I was wincing in sympathy the whole time. The show in general is good at not making fight scenes go the way you expect them to.)

That moment with Kagari at the end was really great! I think your right in that she's fundamentally very self-centered; it makes the insights she does have even more striking.

[sirvalkyrie]

I love the Black Rock Shooter anime. I have not seen the previous OVA, but I loved this as is. I liked Black Gold Saw's story a lot. I also like how Kagari and Yomi were both kinda mutually messed up by the relationship and Kagari suddenly becoming normal messing with Yomi's head.

Here is mine: http://fandom-stocking.dreamwidth.org/281068.html

[terabient]

I hadn't seen the OVA either, just the Supercell video that was made first, I think? I might check out the OVA just to see how it differs from the anime, but from the few clips I've seen the OVA doesn't have the level of inventiveness the anime does.

Black Gold Saw and Strength/Yuu's story could have powered its very own miniseries! I wish we could have seen more than we got, really.

I liked Kagari and Yomi's relationship too--a lot of times when a character is in an abusive relationship it's not clear why the other person puts up with it aside from guilt, but BRS showed that Yomi wasn't just a hapless victim.

[jack_of_none]

I would be interested in such a list! Haha, I partially left a stocking because I wanted to...build up a critical mass of video game fans over there, I suppose.